<I>Borrelia burgdorferi</I> (IMAGE)
Caption
Saito collaborated with biomedical researchers at Johns Hopkins University, applying his proteomic techniques to explore proteins in a terrestrial organism, the bacteria that cause Lyme Disease. Unlike all other known organisms, <I>Borrelia burgdorferi</I> need manganese (blue dot), rather than iron, to serve as linchpins bonded into key enzymes. The scientists found that to cause disease, <I>Borrelia</I> require unusually high levels of manganese. The findings open new avenues to search for ways to attack the bacteria.
Credit
Illustration by P. John Hart, University of Texas
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